Deaths

NECROLOGY

Class of 1853

Rev. William Smith Thompson was born in Wilmot, N. H„ August 22, 1828, and died in Hampton Falls, N. H., September 9, 1917.

His parents were Samuel and Anna True (Smith) Thompson. He fitted for college at Kimball Union Academy, Meriden.

The fall and winter after graduation he taught at Northwood, N. H., and in the fol- lowing spring at Salisburg, N. H. In the fall of 1854 he entered Andover Theological Seminary, from which he graduated in 1857, remaining some months for further study. He then preached for a year at Enfield, N. H., after which he was for some months in New York, taking further studies at Union Theo- logical Seminary. In February, 1860, he be- gan a year’s service with the Congregational churches of Solon and Bingham, Me., after which he was for five years pastor of the churches at Aina and Newcastle in that state. For one year from September, 1867, he was pastor at Loudon, N. H., and then from Janu- ary, 1869, to March, 1885, at Acton, Me. From 1885 to 1892 he was pastor at Newington, N. H. At the close of this pastorate he retired to a farm at Hampton Falls, where he passed the remainder of his life, preaching occasion- ally until advanced age.

November 30, 1860, Mr. Thompson was married to Harriet, daughter of Enos and Cynthia (Parker) Tibbetts of Reading, Mass., who survived him until September 18, 1918. They had two children, a daughter and a son, both of whom, it is thought, are still living.

Alfred Osgood Blaisdell died at his home in Brooklyn, N. Y., October 22, of bronchitis, after a two weeks’ illness.

He was born in Lebanon, N. H., March 13, 1833, being the son of Daniel and Charlotte (Osgood) Blaisdell. His father, a graduate of Dartmouth in 1827, removed to Hanover a few months after his son’s birth, and was treasurer of the College from 1835 to his death in 1875. His preparation was obtained mainly from private instruction in Hanover.

For two years after graduation he pursued scientific studies at Hanover under Prof. Ira Young. From July, 1855, to April, 1857, he was employed as a machinist in the Amoskeag Machine Shop, Manchester, N. H., and then to June, 1858, in the Providence Machine Company’s works at Providence, R. I. He remained in other establishments in Provi- dence most of the time until December, 1862, being for the last six months mechanical draftsman for the Providence Tool Company, designing machinery for gun-making. He was then in New York City and Jersey City to July, 1865, designing propelling machinery for monitors being built for the government. From 1865 to 1875 he was a draftsman at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and for the next five years was variously employed at his profes- sion, being one of the designers of the Brook- lyn Bridge. In August, 1880, he returned to the Navy Yard, taking charge of the drawing room in the department of steam engineering. This position he resigned in 1898.

Mr. Blaisdell was active member and for some years a deacon of Clinton Avenue Con- gregational church of Brooklyn, and did much effective religious work.

December 31, 1860, he was married to Mary Estabrook, daughter of Wheeler and Rebecca (Sawin) Martin of Providence, R. J., who died June 7, 1913. Their two children survive them. Ralph Blaisdell of Portland, Oregon, and Mrs. Spencer Tallmadge Of Mobile, Ala.

These two men were the last survivors of their class, and their death leaves the class without living representatives.

Class of 1862

James French died September 13 at the Symmes Hospital, Arlington, Mass., of a com- plication of diseases.

He was born in Meadville, Pa., October 21, 1839, his parents being Moses and Almira (Herrick) French. He fitted at Kimball Un- ion Academy, his home when in college being in Hartford, Vt. He was a member of the Zeta Psi fraternity.

After teaching for a short time in Vermont, he went to Boston in 1863 and entered the employ of his uncle, Benjamin French, a pho- tographer and dealer in photographic supplies. From 1867 to 1871 he was in Burlington, Jowa, from 1871 to 1879 in Louisville, Ky., from 1879 to 1881 in St. Louis, Mo., and then to 1883 in Chicago. In 1883 he returned to Bos- ton, and became treasurer of the Robey- French Company, dealers in photographic sup- plies. About seven years ago he retired from active business, and had since been living with a son in Arlington.

In January, 1869, Mr. French was married to Emma J. Day of Portland, Me., who died some years since. A son survives, two daugh- ters having died in early childhood.

Class of 1875

It has recently been reported that Robert Joshua Lounsbury, a member of this class during the first two years of its course, died June 22, 1917, at his home in Pontiac, Mich., of heart disease, after a week’s illness.

He was born at Mahopac Falls, Putnam County, N. Y, February 21, 1854, the son of Isaac and Catherine (Myrick) Lounsbury, and fitted for college at Phillips Academy, Andover. He was a member of Theta Delta Chi.

After leaving college he studied law at Columbia Law School, graduating there- from in 1875. He began the practice of his profession at Pontiac, Mich., and remained there through life, though continuing in active practice but a short time. He established a large real estate business, and acted as repre- sentative of Eastern capitalists who had in- terests in Michigan and adjoining states. For several years he was engaged in preparing an abstract of land titles in his county. From March, 1905 to May, 1910, he was receiver of the Pontiac, Oxford, and Northern Railroad, and was highly successful in this trust.

When the city of Pontiac adopted the com- mission form of government, Mr. Lounsbury was elected its first mayor under the new sys- tem, and had a very satisfactory administra- tion of two years. In 1916, after an intermis- sion of private life, he was again elected mayor, but after a year’s service resigned in April, 1917, for reasons of health, having again shown his business ability in the hand- ling of municipal problems.

October 26, 1880, Mr. Lounsbury was mar- ried to Harriet, daughter of Col. S. E. Beach of Pontiac. She died in March, 1909. They had a son, who died in his twentieth year, and a daughter, Elizabeth, who survives her parents.

Class of 1876

Robert Floyd Hall died at the Postgraduate Hospital, New York City, August 11, of bronchial pneumonia, having undergone a ser- ious operation on the Sth.

He was born at South Paris, Me., August 14, 1854, being the son of Joseph and Lydia (Hussey) Hall. His home from 1864 was at Grantville, Mass., and he prepared for col- lege at the local high school, with a final year at Phillips Exeter.

For the first two years after graduation he was assistant at the Allegheny Observa- tory, Allegheny, Pa., and then was engaged in sheep raising with his father at Pratts- burg, Kansas, until April, 1885. From that date to May, 1889, he was in Denver, Colo., in the employ of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Company as civil engineer in the repair and construction departments.

The main work of his life began in June, 1889, when he entered the employ of the Western Electric Company in Chicago. In September he was transferred to the New York office, and soon became mainly engaged in superintending the work of installing the Patterson telephone cables, the invention of his classmate, W. R. Patterson. He became the head of the cable department of the com- pany, and also had charge of installing range finders on United States vessels. In 1908 he was transferred to Chicago and remained there until his retirement from active work in 1915. The year following he spent in Pasa- dena, Cal., but in 1916 he returned to East Orange, N. J., where his home had been be- fore going to Chicago.

Mr. Hall was married in Lamed, Kans., March 16, 1883, to Annie E., daughter of William G. and Mary E. Drew of Haverhill, Mass., who survives him, with a daughter and a son.

Class of 1884

Lewis Elmer Carleton Hinckley died No- vember 28, 1817, at his home in Reno, Nevada. His death was caused by valvular heart dis- ease, aggravated by a trip over the mountains to San Francisco and back.

He was born in Hampden, Maine, July 11, 1861, his parents being Lorenzo and Sarah Ann (Mayo) Hinckley. His early life was spent in Hampden, Fort Fairfield, and Ban- gor, Me., and he prepared for college at Bangor High School, with his brother and classmate, John H. Hinckley. He played full- back on the varsity eleven, and engaged ac- tively in field athletics. His fraternity was Alpha Delta Phi.

The first year after graduation he studied at Albany Law School, where he graduated in 1885. In October of that year he was admitted to the bar of Maine, and during 1886 prac- ticed in Bangor in partnership with his broth- er. He then removed to Eldorado, Kansas, and in 1889 to Denver, Colo., where he con- tinued in practice, paying particular attention to corporation and mining- law, and engaging in mining enterprises in Colorado and Nevada. In 1904 he removed to Goldfield, Nevada, and about 1908 to Reno. He had large mining interests, and had recently entered the oil fields. He owned and developed an island in a river flowing through Reno, called Belle Isle Park, at a cost of $75,000. When in Kan- sas, he held the offices of city and district attorney. In 1907, he spent with his wife some time in travel abroad.

August 10, 1887, Mr. Hinckley was married to Jennie Etta Kimball of Albany, N. Y., who is not living. Their two daughters sur- vive their parents. January 24, 1906, he was married to Elmira Belle Bowman of Wooster, Ohio, who survives him.

Class of 1885

Richard Webb died suddenly in a street car in Portland, Maine, October 28. The cause of his death was chronic heart trouble, from which he had suffered from early man- hood.

He was born in Portland, November 19, 1863, the son of Mason Greenw'ood and Eliz- abeth Neil (Bates) Webb. He fitted for col- lege at Portland High School, and entered Bowdoin College, transferring to Dartmouth in the spring of sophomore year. He was a member of Psi Upsilon. In senior year he was an editor of The Dartmouth and presi- dent of the Athletic Association, and was the winner of the first Lockwood and the second Grimes prize for English composition.

In 188S-6 he was principal of the high school at Pembroke, N. H., and also studied law under the direction of Holmes and Payson of Portland. Continuing that study, he was admitted to the bar in April, 1887, and at once began practice in Portland. His practice was a large and successful one, and he was recognized as a citizen of the high- est type. He is characterized as “a high-class, courtly gentleman, quiet and reserved. He mingled little with his fellow-men, but to those who were fortunate in having an inti- mate acquaintance with him there was revealed a most charming personality.”

Mr. Webb was assistant county attorney from 1893 to 1897, member of the Maine House of Representatives in 1899 and 1901, and a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1908, having been an alternate in 1904. From 1899 to 1903 he served on the city school committee.

For twelve years from 1902 he was presi- dent of the First Parish Society (Unitarian), and has been vice-president of the Maine Unitarian Conference. He was a member of the American Bar Association, the Maine Bar Association, the Cumberland Bar Associa- tion, the Maine Historical Society, the Loyal Legion, the Economic Club of Portland, and the Cumberland, Portland, and Portland Country Clubs.

February 15, 1893, he was married to Sara Evalina, daughter of Louis Drake and Isabelle (Bridgham) Brinckerhoff of Portland, who survives him. Their only child, a daughter, died in infancy.

Class of 1912

William Ashe Ryan died of pneumonia fol- lowing influenza at the Cambridge City Hos- pital, Cambridge, Mass., September 25, 1918.

The son of Lawrence Joseph and Ellen (Ashe) Ryan, he was born in Nashua, N. H., August 8, 1889, and fitted for college at the high school of that city. He was a member of Phi Delta Theta.

For two years after graduation he studied at Harvard Law School, and then for a year at the Law School of Boston University, graduating from the latter in 1915. He opened an office in Manchester, and continued in practice there until July 1, 1918, when he was appointed a United States naturaliza- tion examiner for New England, with an office in Boston. His fatal illness was of a week’s duration. The burial was in the Cath- olic cemetery of Hudson, N. H.

MEDICAL SCHOOL

Class of 1880

Dr. Edmund Bailey Frye died at his home in Boston October 23, of heart disease, after a very brief illness.

He was born in Concord, N. H., October 20, 1856, his parents being James Straw and Harriet E. (Morse) Frye. When he was two years old his parents removed to Haverhill, Mass., and he fitted for college at the high school of that city and at Atkinson (N. H.) Academy. In the fall of 1873 he entered the Chandler Scientific Department in the class of 1877, but left college in January, 1875. His medical studies were taken entirely at Dart- mouth. He was a member of the Phi Zeta Mu fraternity (now Sigma Chi).

After obtaining his medical degree in Nov- ber, 1879, he opened an office in Boston, re- moving to Plaistow, N. H., in May, 1881. In November, 1885, he returned to Boston, and lived in the Roxbury district until 1905. From 1905 to 1912 his home was at Wellesley Hills, and since that date in Boston. About 1900 he retired from active practice, and gave his time to various business interests, includ- ing for some years a manufacturing enter- prise at Wilton, N. H., where he spent his summers.

February 4, 1880, Dr. Frye was married to Alice Eliza, daughter of Alfred A. and Eliza- beth Harriet (Leeds) Whitney of Boston, who survives him, with their two daughters and two sons, the younger son, Whitney Morse, having been for a time a member of the Dartmouth class of 1915.

Class of 1897

Colonel Robert Montgomery Thornburgh was killed in San Francisco, Cal., October 9, when the automobile in which he was riding collided with a city bus.

Colonel Thornburgh was born in Omaha, Neb., March 13, 1872, his father being a major in the regular army who was killed in an Indian massacre during the son’s boyhood. He was a member of the class of 1895 in the Col- lege, leaving during junior year and pursuing the study of medicine in the Medical School. He was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fra- ternity.

After his graduation he practiced for some years at Cornish, N. H. He entered the army June 29, 1901, as an assistant surgeon. His first duty was at Fort Slocum, N. Y. In 1905 he was assigned to duty in the Philippine Is- lands, and on June 29, 1906, was promoted from first lieutenant to captain. From 1908 to 1910 he served at the military prison, Alca- traz Island, San Francisco, and in 1910 he was transferred to the Army General Hospital (now the Letterman General Hospital) at San Francisco. January 1, 1911, he was pro- moted to major. In 1913 he again saw ser- vice in the Philippines, during which detail he went to China as surgeon of an army trans- port. In 1916 he was for two months on tem- porary duty as chief of the surgical staff of Walter Reed Hospital, Washington. He was then transferred to Fort Oglethorpe, and later saw service on the Mexican frontier as Sur- geon of the 11th Cavalry. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel May 15, 1917, being on duty at Camp Pike as division surgeon. In December of the same year he became a colonel in the Medical Corps, National Army. He was chief surgeon of the 87th Division, and in January, 1919, was or- dered to the Justice Hospital Group at Toul, France, as commanding officer. Early in June he returned from overseas, and after tempor- ary duty at Walter Reed Hospital was de- tailed as commanding officer of Letterraan General Hospital, where he was serving at the time of his tragic death. He was one of the most noted operating surgeons in the army, and on account of his reputation as such was elected a fellow of the American College of Surgeons in 1914.

He was a member of the Bohemian and Social Clubs of San Francisco and many other social organizations, and was an enthusiastic Dartmouth man, being always on hand at the monthly luncheons and annual dinners while about San Francisco unless unavoidably de- tained.

April 28, 1895, he was married to Florence Ella Carrol of Cornish, N. H., who survives him. Their only son, Thomas T. Thornburgh, a recent graduate of West Point, is a second lieutenant in the regular army.

HONORARY

Professor Charles Henry Hitchcock, who died in Honolulu, Hawaii, November 6, re- ceived the honorary degree of Master of Arts in 1908.

Born in Amherst, Mass., August 23, 1836, the son of President Edward Hitchcock of Amherst College, he graduated from that in- stitution in 1856. For forty years, from 1868 to 1908, he was professor of geology and min- eralogy at Dartmouth. His long service to the College and his personal characteristics are treated elsewhere in the Magazine.